The National Archives of the UK is holding a series of workshops focusing on art, design, photography and other visual collections Please see below and the NA website for more details:
Victorian Visual Culture
Tuesday, 10 February 2026 | 09:00 - 17:00 GMT in-person
Records of copyright registration and trade marks at The National Archives offer a unique insight into Victorian visual and print culture in Britain. They include records of the registration of paintings, drawings, advertising and photographs with the Stationers’ Company between 1862 and 1912 (and books and music from 1842) and trade marks registered with the UK Patent Office between 1876 and 1938. Through hands-on sessions with original documents, this in-person workshop at The National Archives' site in Kew will provide students with the skills they need to conduct research with these visually striking and underused collections. The records provide opportunities for a variety of research areas including visual and print culture, art history, business history and legal history.
Registered Designs, 1839-1991
Tuesday, 17 Mar ch 2026 | 09:00 - 17:00 GMT in-person
This one-day workshop will teach the skills and methodologies for working with historical design copyright records (or ‘registered designs’) at The National Archives. This unique and vast collection contains the details and visual or material representations of almost 3 million designs registered for copyright protection between 1839 and 1991, covering a 152-year period. You will learn about the contents of the collection through examples of objects, materials and styles that are represented, as well as the background to the registration system that created these records and its function in protecting design copyright. You will also find out about the types of businesses and individuals that used the registration system and how design copyright was used as a commercial tool to protect original design in the manufacturing industries.
Twentieth century government visual communications
Tuesday, 31 March 2026 | 09:00 - 17:00 BST in person
The National Archives’ collections include examples of government communication campaigns across the C20th, from wartime propaganda and race relations information to health and road safety campaigns. In this in-person workshop at The National Archives' site in Kew and through hands-on sessions with original documents, students will learn how to find and interrogate the range of visual material produced by government.
National Archives Workshops